Victim's brother charged with murder in death of teen Weaverville girl

WEAVERVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) - The Buncombe County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of a teen girl on Brinwood Drive in Weaverville.

Eighteen-year-old Kayla Dezaray Hensley is dead from severe lacerations from a knife, the sheriff's office incident report states. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Hensley's brother, a juvenile, is charged with first-degree murder in her death and is in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Juvenile Justice.

Deputies say the murder was a domestic incident.

The initial call to law enforcement about a suspicious person was made around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Deputies arrived at the mobile home park on Brinwood Drive at 10:42 p.m.

Upon arriving at the home, deputies encountered the caller and a white male juvenile. Deputies spoke to the juvenile and then began searching for Hensley.

The responding officers found her body near a dumpster at the bottom of Brinwood Drive.

Sheriff’s office personnel continued to process the scene throughout the night, clearing the scene on Sunday morning.

According to the police report, Hensley was killed on the premises of her family's Brinwood Drive home.

Neighbor Franklin Hughes told News 13 he lived in a mobile home across from Hensley, her brother and mother.

"When I first met [Hensley's brother], he was coming out of the woods with a hatchet and I asked him what he was doing, and he wouldn't talk to me, and he went home. His mom come up and she talked to me, said 'he just plays in the woods, cuts down trees, makes forts,' you know, that he was a good kid," Hughes said.

Hughes described Hensley's brother as a good kid, as well.

"A lot of the kids up there are mean to my kids, except for him and a couple other ones. He was actually one of the nice kids to my kids. So, when all this came about, you know, it was kind of shocking," Hughes said.

Hughes also described Hensley's mother as a good person who was trying to provide for her family.

"She works all the time," Hughes said. "Always working."

He had a message for her and her family.

"I don't know what to say. I'm in disbelief. I don't think anybody seen this coming. I don't know how they could. My heart goes out to you for sure," Hughes said.

A crisis team is on hand at North Buncombe High School and will stay there as long as it is needed.